SOUTH AFRICA v WALES Second Test venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria Date: Saturday, 14 June Kick-off: 1400 BST Coverage: Live on BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru & online
 Matfield is regarded as one of the best locks in the world |
Lock Victor Matfield and scrum-half Ricky Januarie return for South Africa's second Test against Wales. Matfield, widely regarded as one of the best locks in the world, came off the bench in last week's 43-17 first Test hammering of Wales in Bloemfontein. Fellow World Cup winner Januarie was left out for disciplinary reasons, but replaces Bolla Conradie in Pretoria. "I'm pleased that we won by such a big margin, but I know we have a lot to work on," said coach Peter de Villiers. "I expect Wales to come at us a lot harder on Saturday. We dominated the collisions and that played a major part in our victory so we must be prepared for a massive physical challenge from the Welsh as they seek to reverse that." The inclusion of Matfield is one of four changes. He will start in place of Andries Bekker and the coach has made further changes to address the front-row pounding the Springboks suffered in Bloemfontein.  | 606: DEBATE |
Props Gurthrö Steenkamp and Brian Mujati have been dropped in favour of Sharks duo Tendai Mtawarira and BJ Both. Mtawarira is one of three Zimbabwe-born players in the squad. "We expect Wales to come out blasting in this game. We expect that they have worked on their shortcomings and we decided to get the big guns onto the field from the start," De Villiers said. "We have a Tri-Nations ahead and we need to know where we want to be when that starts." Ryan Kankowski, a standout performer in Super 14 this season, has been named on the bench, along with two World Cup winners, full-back Percy Montgomery and utility back Francois Steyn.  | The score from the first Test flatters us South Africa coach Peter de Villiers |
"We will be concentrating on the scrum and kick-offs. We weren't adventurous at all, but we said we wouldn't neglect the basic principles. "We want to be expansive, but we cannot forget the basics." "The score from the first Test flatters us," said de Villiers. "Wales were better than that score and they are a better side than what they played like on Saturday. "Perhaps they were a little over-confident after winning the Six Nations, but they'll be back. "We know they're a good team and that [Warren] Gatland is one of the best coaches around and also that he has been planning for the second Test since last Saturday."
South Africa: Conrad Jantjes; Tonderai Chavhanga, Adrian Jacobs, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana; Butch James, Ricky Januarie; Tendai Mtawarira, John Smit (capt), BJ Botha, Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Luke Watson, Juan Smith, Pierre Spies. Replacements: Bismarck Du Plessis, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Andries Bekker, Ryan Kankowski, Bolla Conradie, Francois Steyn, Percy Montgomery.
|
Bookmark with:
What are these?